Fly Back To You
by teamjacobrulez
Summary: Years after their separation, the last thing Bella expected was to reunite with the Fiores in Forks. When she finally sees Landon again for the first time, his arms are wrapped around another girl… his fiancé. Despite her silence, you could hear Bella's heart breaking for the millionth time. (If You're a Bird, I'm a Bird SEQUEL)
1. Fall To Pieces

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Chapter 1: Fall To Pieces

"_And I don't want to fall to pieces, I just want to sit and stare at you."_

_- Avril Lavigne_

**Bella POV**

"Come on, Bella!" Mandy yelled.

My eyes snapped open and I immediately got out of bed. I walked into my bathroom and sighed when I saw my reflection in the mirror. Once again, my eyes were red and swollen and my face was incredibly pale. I rested my forehead against the mirror and exhaled slowly.

I turned on the sink and washed my face. _It's been thirty years, Bella. Get over it! Besides, it was your own fault._

I bit my lip angrily and pounded the granite counter.

"Bella?"

I sighed and turned to look at Mandy. "Yeah?"

She took a seat next to me and gathered me into her arms. When I couldn't hold it in anymore, I broke out sobbing uncontrollably.

"You really did love him, didn't you?" she asked. I nodded with teary eyes.

"I _still_ love him. That's why I decided to break it off," I cried, "We were fighting too much, Mandy. We were just hurting each other by being together."

"Shh," she tried to soothe, "If you guys are really meant to be together, you'll find your way back to each other."

"Maybe."

"Now, come on. These things aren't going to pack themselves, you know?" She offered me a lazy grin, which I weakly returned.

The time has come for me to move back to Forks. It's been a whole eighty years since I left this place behind. At least, now, I am absolutely sure that the people that once knew me here are now dead.

After I left the family, we all had an agreement that we wanted to age before reincarnating again. Rayne told me about everyone. Ives and Patrick are now 22. Rayne and I are 23. Daniel and… and _Landon_ are 24. _God, I didn't realize how much it hurt to just think about him._ Rhia and Marc are no longer the little elementary kids that I once knew. Rhia is now 17 and my little KangaRoux is already 18. Cassandra and Adrien had decided to stay the same age.

When we left, Mandy immediately wanted to know how I became one of them. I told her about the process of being an Asher. She willingly wanted to do. We waited for a few years, until she turned 22. And then, she became just like me. Ever since we left, we've been by each other's side, never abandoning each other. I think we both needed the company. We've become such inseparable friends.

I wasn't quite sure why I wanted to stay in Forks. I've been back here every year to visit Charlie on his death anniversary, but something inside of me wanted to be here, to be close to where I grew up. Although my memories of him will always be with me, his life belonged here. And for the first time in a long time, I wanted to be a part of the life he built here, even if it's already slowly fading away.

I can still remember the promise that Rhia made me make. _"I know you go to Forks every year to visit your dad, but there's going to be one year when you finally decide to stay and when you decide to do that, stay. I want you to promise me that you're going to stay there no matter what happens."_

Part of the reason why I'm staying in Forks is also because of that promise. I'm not quite sure what that promise entails quite yet, but I have a feeling that I'll be finding out real soon.

I looked over at Mandy and saw her bent over some boxes. With a sigh, I pushed myself off of the floor and finally moved to help her.

"Everything's taken care of at the apartment, right?" Mandy asked.

"Yeah, I've already done all the paperwork. The place is officially ours."

A couple of weeks ago, Mandy and I transported to Port Angeles to do some apartment hunting. We found the right place for us. Because moving trucks are much too expensive, we planned to rent an apartment first, so that we could just easily transport back into it with our things.

We're packing only the last of our stuff. Most of it is already in our apartment.

"I think this is the last box." Mandy closed the box and took a step back. We surveyed the entirety of our old apartment. It's barren now; the walls lack the paintings and pictures that were once hung up on it. I can still see the holes on the walls where we hammered the nails. There are clean spots on the carpet where our furniture used to be located on.

We've moved around so many times these past thirty years, but for some reason, this move felt more exhausting.

"You ready?" Mandy asked.

I nodded and carried the half of the boxes with me. I closed my eyes and let the familiar feeling of a warm blanket cover me. When I opened my eyes, I was already in our new apartment.

Several of our boxes were strewn around, some half empty, some still completely unopened.

I settled the boxes on the floor and sighed. "I guess we're completely moved in, huh?"

Mandy smiled. "Time for another new life."

We spent the rest of the day unboxing our things and putting them in their respectful places. As soon as we finished the basics of the apartment – the living room, kitchen, and dining room – we moved to our own rooms. We had a bathroom in each of our rooms, thankfully.

The first thing I set up was my calendar. I flipped to the current month of the year: August. A sigh escaped my lips as I read the red marker on the calendar. It's almost Charlie's death anniversary again. It's in exactly a week.

I tore myself away from the calendar, no longer wanting to dwell upon it.

As I put away my things, I couldn't help but think about the past thirty years. Mandy and I have been everywhere. Before we moved here, we lived in Vancouver, Canada. It was a nice change of setting. We had never been there before.

Although it's been three decades, I couldn't find it in myself to move on to another man. I still clung on to the idea that Landon and I would get back together, but our future seemed bleak now.

Landon and I never really officially broke off our relationship. I guess there just came a point where we realized that it was okay to see other people. Despite this, I just never did. No one could ever be Landon.

I still continued to talk to everyone in the family everyday. Rayne, bless her soul, wanted to keep me updated on Landon. At first, I didn't mind it. It calmed my nerves to know how he was doing.

I knew all about his drunken escapades and it made me feel so broken, for him and for me. When Rayne started talking about his relationships, I just couldn't handle it anymore. I asked her to stop talking about him.

"_Are you sure, Bella?" she asked me._

Reluctantly, I said yes. It felt wrong to know that I knew everything about him, yet he didn't know a single thing about me. I prohibited the others to update him about me. Just like I was finding myself, I wanted him to find himself as well. He didn't need to concern himself about me.

Right now, no one is the family knows that I'm in Port Angeles. But I also have no idea where they are, so I guess we're even.

A heard a knock on my door. "Yeah?"

"You ready to walk the streets?"

I placed the box on my mattress and nodded.

As we opened the doors to our apartment, the cold air whipped against our faces. I smiled when Mandy linked her arms with mine.

"Cheer up, Bella. There's no time like the present," she said.

"Thanks, Mandy. I really don't know where I would be right now without you," I replied earnestly. She grinned and squeezed my arm.

"I could say the same to you. So, about this bridal shop thing…"

I chuckled. "Yes, Mandy, I'm just as excited about it as you are. I wouldn't be suffering through this cold for nothing."

"Shut up," she laughed, "You can't even feel the cold." _Oh the perks of being a Phoenix._ "I came up with a name for it. _La Bella Sposa_. It means – "

"The Beautiful Bride," I chimed in before she could continue.

She smiled. "Yeah, it's perfect! Plus it has your name in it."

"What about yours?" I asked She scoffed.

"I'd rather not have my name attached to it, thank you very much. Besides, this was your idea."

"But – "

She waved me off. "Don't worry about it. I like the name the way it is."

I decided that fighting with her would be pointless so I just let it go.

We continued to roam the streets, looking for potential building spaces for our bridal shop.

Before Mandy decide to leave her old life behind, she was well exposed to life inside of a bridal shop. She knew the ins and outs of the business. For the past decade, we've worked as wedding planners. I offered the suggestion to start our own shop and Mandy was more than happy to pull through with it.

I glanced at Mandy as we walked. Unlike me, Mandy has had her fair share of flings. She's gone out on several dates but none of them ever became serious enough. She was more of a "hit it then quit it" kind of girl.

I'm still pulling for her and Ives together. It might not be anytime soon, but it's okay. They have a lifetime to find their ways back to each other.

I was so deep in thought that I didn't realize that Mandy was staring back at me. "What?" she demanded.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

She suddenly paused and put her hands on her hips. "Bella…"

"I was just thinking about you and Ives," I finally admitted.

Mandy played it off and shrugged, but I could tell that it affected her.

"What about him? I haven't heard from him since we left," she said with bitterness in her voice.

_Oh, but he always bothers me about you. Every single day._

"You know it's not like that," I told her. "He just… He's just Ives."

"Ives will be Ives," she spat. "Can we just stop talking about him?"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry for bringing it up," I apologized.

"It's fine," she murmured.

After a few more minutes of walking, I felt like giving up. "There's nothing here! All of these buildings are old and ugly and – "

My words died on my throat.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Mandy asked with awe in her voice.

I gulped and nodded.

We looked both ways and finally decided that it was safe to cross the street. We stopped right in front of a glass window. It was _perfect_.

The inside looked empty and dusty, as it should be, but what attracted us to it was the large glass window. It was perfectly flat, no indents towards the building. Two glass doors were situated in the middle of it.

We wanted a space that would show the entirety of the shop once we've moved in. We wanted people from the outside to see the beautiful women as they tried on their wedding dresses.

I looked at Mandy and she was just as breathless as I was.

"This is it," she whispered.

I wordlessly agreed.

My hand went up to touch the glass but I stopped in my tracks.

In the reflection of the window, I saw…

I saw _Landon_.

I choked on air and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I whipped around to confirm it. And when I turned around, _he was there_. Just like the reflection.

He might have been a whole street away from me, but I looked at him like I was looking at the sun for the first time in forever. He looked different, but so familiar. He seemed to be looking at something in the distance. My eyes followed his eye line.

A girl, probably around my age, was running towards him. She had a soft smile on her face. He was obviously the subject of her eye just as she was the subject of his.

Something sparkled in my eyes and my eyes zeroed in on the shiny ring on the girl's finger.

And right then, everything I've ever hoped for shattered in front of my very eyes.

The girl propelled herself into Landon's arms and he easily caught her. They both leaned in to each other and I knew instantly what they were about to do.

I closed my eyes and tears that I didn't know were there slid down my cheeks. I wiped them away quickly and turned away.

_Bella!_

I heard Mandy shout after me, but I just _couldn't_.

He was there within my reach but…

_He's not mine anymore._

**Hot damn. First chapter is already off to a cliffhanger. **

**Let's try this, I'll UPDATE CHAPTER 2 as soon as guys get this chapter to 10 REVIEWS.**

**Do we have a deal?**

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**See you guys soon!**


	2. Gone

**Holy smokes! You guys have no idea how happy I am! The first chapter was received so well by all of you. I only asked for 10 REVIEWS and you gave me 35 REVIEWS! That's the most reviews I've received in ages. You guys even inspired me to write another chapter of this story.**

**Also, if you haven't read Landon's Summer Diary, PLEASE DO SO! There are a lot of things in it Landon's Summer Diary will point to many events that will happen in this story. DON'T MISS OUT!**

**So without further ****adieu, here is chapter two!**

Chapter 2: Gone

"_Are you gone, gone, gone? Tell me I'm wrong, wrong, wrong.  
It's been so long, long, long. Are you gone?"_

_- Kina Grannis_

**Bella POV**

As soon as I was out of sight, I transported myself back to our apartment space.

I stumbled into my room and collapsed on the floor. I slammed the door shut and finally let my sobs take over.

I knew he had moved on but I didn't think he was _engaged_.

And no matter how much I want him back, I just don't think I can find it in myself to break up his relationship. _He's engaged for fuck's sake._ This isn't just some girlfriend that he can leave. This is a girl who he's promised to take care of for life. _Just like me, once upon a time_.

I grabbed my suitcase and reached deep within it. As soon as I felt the cold chill of the metal, I pulled it out from underneath my clothes. I caressed the charm bracelet, the one that Landon had given me so long ago. I cradled it to me chest and cried for all of the new memories that we're no longer going to make.

_I have to know_.

I only hesitated for a quick second, but curiosity took over.

_Rayne_.

Her normal cheery voice rang up in my head. _Bella! Hi!_

_Since when?_ I demanded from her.

I could hear the confusion in her voice. _Since what?_

_How long has he been engaged?!_

There was a sudden lull. I'm sure that wasn't the greeting she expected from me.

Rayne sounded resigned. _They've been together for almost two years. They got engaged four months ago. I'm sorry, Bella._

_Why didn't you ever tell me?_ I cried out to her.

_Bella,_ she reminded, _I tried. Don't you remember?_

I paused from the chaos within me to try to remember.

"_**Bella, I need to tell you something," Rayne said.**_

"_**If it has to do with Landon, I don't want to hear it. I already told you about this, Rayne," I told her.**_

"_**But Bella – " she tried to say.**_

"_**No, Rayne. I don't have the right to keep tabs on him anymore. Just let it go."**_

"_**Okay, Bella. Okay."**_

I gasped for her. She did tried to tell me and I wouldn't hear any of it.

_Oh God, Rayne, _I sobbed.

_Her name is Mara. Mara Travesty. She knows about you, you know, _Rayne said.

_Why are you telling me this?_

_Because I want you to know that even after everything, we, your family, still love you and care for you. There hasn't been a single day when we don't talk about you. We want Mara to know that she can never be you,_ Rayne thought to me.

_Isn't that a bit cruel?_

I could almost see Rayne shaking her head. _Mara fixed Landon. I'll give her that and we'll always be grateful for her. And Landon does seem to love her…_

More tears slid down my cheeks. I clutched at my chest and willed my heart to stay together. I could feel it slowly breaking into pieces.

I wanted to be angry with Landon for moving on, but I couldn't. I had no right to be. I'd be selfish to want him to be miserable without me. Besides, it was my entire fault. If I hadn't left, things wouldn't be this way.

_But Bella, he still loves you too_.

I chuckled humorlessly.

_Don't tell me that. I don't want to… I don't want you to get my hopes up._

_Okay, okay. But wait, how did you find out?_

I didn't know whether I should tell her or not. As far as I knew, Landon was still living with the family. If that's the case, then that means that the family lives somewhere nearby.

_Bella…_ Rayne warned.

_Mandy and I are living in Port Angeles. We were walking downtown for some potential building spaces for our bridal shop. He didn't see me, but I saw Landon there,_ I finally admitted.

And his fiancée, I wanted to say, but I was just being bitter.

Rayne let out a squeal of excitement. _You're here?!_

_Too loud,_ I complained.

_Oh my gosh! I can't believe it. For thirty years no one knew where you would be and now you're just a drive away!_

_I figured you guys were living somewhere nearby._

_We're here in Forks_, she announced. _Can I please visit you? Pretty pretty please?_

_Rayne, I don't think that's such a great idea…_

_PLEASE?! _

I flinched, but despite it all, I couldn't help the smile that made it's way upon my face. I missed Rayne a lot too.

_Okay,_ I finally agreed. _But I think I just need my space right now. I'll text you the address later._

_I'll be waiting! Take care, Bella. I'll see you soon!_

I could practically hear the excitement dripping from her voice.

I sighed and let the link between us drop. And once again, I was back on my own. I looked down and saw that I was still clutching the charm bracelet to my chest. I picked up one of the charms. It was a heart that had "B + L" on it. A tear fell right onto the heart.

"Bella," I heard Mandy breathe from behind me. "Oh geez, Bells." She fell onto the floor with me and hugged me to her.

"Did he… did he see you?" I hiccupped through my sobs. I felt her shake her head.

"No, I got out of there as soon as I could. Bella, if you want, we can move again, we can – "

Her words got lost on me as I remembered Rhia's words. _I want you to promise me that you're going to stay there no matter what happens._

I shook my head. "No, Mandy. I need to do this. I can't keep running away."

We looked at each other for what seemed like a lifetime. Slowly, she nodded. "Okay," she whispered.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and continued to cry.

* * *

The next day, Mandy and I didn't speak another word about what happened the day before. I did tell her, though, that Rayne now knew where we were. As I watched her reaction, I knew that Ives was the first thing that popped into her mind. If the family was around, then it meant that Ives was too.

We called the number on the building space and signed the papers immediately. We just finished up meeting up with the man in charge. We shook hands and the place was ours.

For the past two days, we've busied ourselves into decorating our bridal shop. All of the furniture we've ordered has already come in. We painted the walls a pretty light peach color. It looked beautiful. The furniture was already in the places where we wanted them to be. The only thing we needed now was for the wedding dresses to start coming in.

We've decided to include several brands into our directory, but we also knew that we wanted our very own designs to be on sale.

"Bella, you realize we're going to need another person around here," Mandy had pointed out the other day. I agreed with her. And because of this, we've put up a _We're Hiring_ sign on the door. Several applications have already been sent it, but we have yet to conduct any interviews.

It's now day three of our new space. Mandy and I were in the back room when we heard the jingle of bell on top of our front door.

I walked out only to see none other than Rayne. A huge smile plastered itself onto my face.

"So, I hear that you guys are hiring?" she smirked.

Mandy appeared from behind me and squeaked. "Rayne!"

Just like Mandy, a squeal escaped from my lips. I ran to Rayne and gave her a tight hug.

"Geez, guys, I feel the love." This time it was a deep baritone. A voice that could only belong to –

"Daniel!" I immediately leapt away from Rayne and gave him a huge hug. Daniel became my big brother ever since I met him. He's seriously like the sibling that I never had.

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and kissed the top of my head. "I missed you, Little Sis."

I found it in myself to finally pull back. I grinned.

"How?" I asked Rayne. "I haven't even sent you the address yet."

"When a girl does her research, she can top even the CIA," she said with obvious pride in herself.

Daniel chuckled. "I think she means she looked at the yellow pages for the new bridal shop opening up in Port Angeles, and the two of you came up."

Rayne stuck her tongue out at him. "You take the fun out of everything."

"Oh!" Mandy gestured towards our new couches. "Sit, I'll make you guys some food."

"Thanks, Mandy," Rayne smiled at her.

As Mandy went to the back room, I got comfortable on the couches with Rayne and Daniel. I haven't felt so giddy in such a long time.

"How have you guys been?" I asked.

"How have _you_ been?" Rayne asked instead, turning the question around.

"I'm a lot better than I was a couple of days ago," I admitted.

"I'm sorry that no one told you, Bella," Daniel apologized.

I waved off his apology. "It wasn't any of your jobs to keep me updated. I chose to leave. It's no one's fault but mine."

A quick silence passed between us, but it ended as soon as Mandy reappeared.

"So how's everyone?" she asked, placing the iced tea and sandwiches on the coffee table.

"They're all doing good," Rayne answered. "Actually, no one knows that you're here. Just the two of us."

"Why didn't you tell them?" I asked curiously.

"Well you guys just barely settled in, we didn't want everyone to be visiting you all at the same time," Daniel said.

Rayne agreed. "Yeah, we didn't want to overwhelm you."

I gave them a thankful smile. "Thanks, guys."

"Also, Landon still doesn't know you're here," Daniel added.

At the mention of Landon, I slightly stiffened. I closed my eyes and let the tension roll back my shoulders. I nodded. "I think it's for the best. I wouldn't want to ruin the life he's made for himself."

"But you do realize that he's going to find out at some point," Rayne pointed out.

"Like you said, Bella, you can't keep running away forever," Mandy piped in.

I shrugged, but knew that they were right. "I'll cross that bridge when I get there," I said.

"So when did you guys move to Forks?" Mandy asked.

"We moved back here almost two and a half years ago. Rhia started off as a freshman in high school and Marc was a sophomore," Rayne answered.

"How are they as teenagers?" I asked. I really did miss those two brats.

"You'll see," Daniel chuckled. "We wouldn't want to tell you everything about everyone. I think they're going to want to tell you themselves."

I huffed impatiently, but I understood what he meant. Every day, they all told me how much they wanted to tell me face-to-face how their lives have been. I don't want to take that away from them.

"Okay then, what about the two of you? How have you been?" I inquired instead.

Daniel and Rayne linked their fingers together. "Well, we're still as strong as ever," Rayne said with a smile.

"Thankfully," Daniel added. Rayne glared at him. He responded with a kiss on her cheek. "You love me."

She softened and grinned.

"Not married yet?" Mandy queried.

At this, I saw Daniel's eyes cloud just the slightest bit.

I decided to indulge Mandy's question. "Yeah, it's been eighty years, guys. What are you waiting for? You want to wait for the century mark?" I joked.

Rayne laughed easily. "I'm fine where I am." She looked up at Daniel who seemed like her half agreed and half disagreed with her statement.

"Yeah," he replied, but I could tell there was more to it than he let on. Well, whatever it is, I'll just leave it to him. I decided to drop it.

"Oh, shoot!" Rayne suddenly exclaimed, looking at her watch. "It's almost five. I told Landon that we were going to meet up with him and…" Her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to – "

"Rayne, calm down, it's okay," I assured her, "Really."

At this, we all stood up from the couches. Rayne and Daniel gave me one last hug.

"We just don't want Landon to be suspicious, you know?" Rayne explained.

"You don't have to explain anything to me. I understand, Rayne." And I really did. I wasn't just saying it to make her feel better.

"We'll see you again, Little Sis. Maybe next time we'll have the whole family with us," Daniel said, smiling.

Mandy said her goodbyes to them as well, and soon enough, they were out of sight.

She looked over to me with a concerned look. "You sure you're okay?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah."

I turned away so that she wouldn't see the tears building up in my eyes.

The next day, Mandy and I were back in the shop. We've been spending most of our time there, so it really wasn't much of a surprise. We were lounging on the couches, flipping through some bridal magazines.

Much like it had yesterday, the bell jingled once again, announcing the arrival of a customer.

"Good morning, sunshines!"

Both Mandy and I groaned. Mandy fell back against the couch and threw the magazine at the intruder.

"Go away!"

**Ohhhh, who could it possibly be? Ya'll should REVIEW and let me know who you think it is. Hint: this someone has said that very line before in If You're a Bird, I'm a Bird :)**

**Because you guys blew me away with all of your REVIEWS, I thought that I'd return the sentiment and give you a sneak peak of the next chapter. Here it is:**

"I indulged their relationship, Bella. You know, I thought she was good for him. She was fixing him in a way that none of us could. But… I didn't expect him to _propose_ to her," she started rambling.

**Now, I've got a challenge for you guys, and it's going to be really tough. **

**To get the next chapter of this story, you guys will have to beat 35 REVIEWS. Ya'll did so great in the last chapter. I believe in you! You can do this!**

**So, what'cha waiting for? REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**


	3. Breathe Again

**GUYS GUYS GUYS, GUESS WHAT? I've been accepted to UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, Chapman University, CSU Long Beach, and CSUN! Woohoo! I'm so excited! The rest of my decisions are arriving within the next few days, so wish me luck :)**

**Also, thanks for the overwhelming support that you guys have already given this story. It's already faring better than If You're a Bird, I'm a Bird which I think is absolutely unbelievable. I love you guys!**

**So alas, here is Chapter 3!**

Chapter 3: Breathe Again

"_And my burden to bear is a love I can't carry anymore…  
Out of breath, I am left hoping someday I'll breathe again."_

_- Sara Bareilles_

**Bella POV**

Ives stood before us in all his glory. He easily caught the magazine in his hands and smiled. "Is that how you treat a customer?" he teased.

"You're not a customer. You're an intruder," Mandy muttered.

He flashed her one of his so-called irresistible eyes. "I've missed you too, darling."

I looked past Ives and saw that Patrick was scowling behind him. "Move, fatass." Upon seeing me, Patrick's scowl turned into bright smile.

"I'm not fat, you leprechaun!"

I was surprised that Patrick didn't even bother with a comeback. Instead, he settled with a, "Bella!" He lifted me off of couch and twirled me around. I squealed and reflexively wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Whoa, Patrick! When did you get so strong?" I joked.

He gently placed me on the floor before embracing me tightly. "I've been working out," he answered.

"Seriously?" I asked, not believing him.

He chuckled. "Seriously."

"Move! It's my turn!" Ives pushed Patrick aside and took his turn to hug me. "Damn, Bella. You have no idea how much I've missed you."

While in his hug, I caught a glimpse of Mandy. She was pretending to throw up. I laughed. "I've missed you guys too."

"It's been way too long, Bella." Patrick grinned.

"How'd you guys even find us?" Mandy asked.

"Well, Rayne and Daniel really suck at lying. We suspected they were doing something that they didn't want us to know. We followed them last night and saw you guys," Ives answered.

"Why didn't you show up last night, then?" I asked.

"We wanted you to have your alone time with them last night. So we could have the whole day with you today," Patrick replied.

"Aww, you guys." I felt so touched. I wrapped an arm around each of them and pulled them to me. "You guys are the best."

"Homies for life, right?" Ives lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Homies for life," I agreed. When I let them go, I saw that Ives kept glancing at Mandy. "Go," I whispered in his ear.

"Thanks, Bella," he smiled and kissed my cheek. "Heeeeey," he sang to her.

Mandy rolled her eyes and started walking to the back room. "Go away, Ives."

"Baby come back!" he belted. Mandy groaned.

I laughed. I missed seeing their banter. When I turned back to Patrick, I saw that he was staring at me.

"What?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"Nothing," he smiled, "I just can't believe you're here."

"Come on." I grabbed his hand and led him to the couches. "How's life?"

"You'd be glad to know that my photography career is finally kicking off." His eyes were filled with so much excitement.

I clapped with joy. "Really? Patrick, that's great!"

"Yeah, in fact, I'm going to have an exhibit in two weeks. I'd love for you to be there."

I nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world."

I paused and really, _really_ looked at Patrick. He's changed so much. He's not the lanky teenager that I used to know. His hair was no longer swept across his forehead like it used to be. Instead, gel held it up. It fit him, especially now that he's lost the childish features his face once had. Dare I say it, Patrick Roux looked handsome.

"So, who's the girl?" I teased.

His eyes widened. _I'm glad he's still the innocent Patrick I once knew._ "W-what girl?" he stuttered.

"Patrick, you're so _handsome_. Don't tell me that no girl has shown interest in you yet," I said.

"No. No one has. I mean… wait, what? Can you repeat that again?" Realization seemed to dawn upon his face. "Did you call me _handsome?_"

I laughed. "Yes, Patrick." He grinned at this.

"Well, then," was all he could say in reply.

"Why does he get to be called handsome?" I heard Ives whine. I rolled my eyes.

I turned around to see that Mandy was trailing behind him. She seemed more content somehow. I smiled secretly to myself.

"Because he is," I defended.

"And me?" Ives asked eagerly.

"You look exactly the same, Ives," I pointed out.

"True," he agreed. "But still!"

The four of us had placed ourselves on the couch, catching up with each other.

"So what is this I hear about you joining a band?" I asked Ives. Patrick smothered a laugh.

Ives eagerly answered. "Yup! We're called The Crazy Chimpanzees."

I turned to Patrick, confirming it. He met my eyes and shrugged with a chuckle.

"Is he for real?" I asked.

"Mhmm," Patrick hummed.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's a _horrible_ band name, Ives," Mandy said.

"We're working on it! Nothing's permanent yet," he argued.

"Whatever you say," Mandy sang.

We all laughed and were about to continue the conversation when the bell jingled again.

"Damn," Ives muttered. "I thought we got you off our backs."

"We saw right through you, fucker." That voice. No matter how much she's matured, I could still tell whose voice and tone that is from anywhere.

I turned around and saw Rhia and… Marc? Whoa.

Marc wasn't the four feet tall kid that I last saw. No, he must be just a little bit less than six feet now. He didn't have that childish side swept hair anymore. It was cut short and style up much like Patrick's was. His face was more toned now too; his jawline clearly defined. He had muscles in all the right places. I could even see some veins running through his forearm.

And next to him was Rhia. God, she's grown up so beautifully.

She looked so small in comparison to him. She's just about my height now. At seventeen, I didn't even look _that_ beautiful. Her blonde curls framed her face, and I could see some neon pink and blue highlights in her hair. She was dressed in all black. I wouldn't have expected anything less. Her face, much like Marc's, was now more defined. She had high cheekbones that I envied.

But despite it all, there was one thing I was sure of. These two kids are meant for each other.

"Earth to Bella," I heard Rhia say.

I shook my head. "Wow." That was the only thing I could come up with.

"Bella!"

Marc ran to me and embraced me in a bear hug. _He's so strong now._ I wrapped my arms around him and returned the hug. When he placed me back down, I realized just how much taller he is than me.

"You're so _tall_," I said in awe.

"Puberty does that to you," he chuckled.

"_Your voice_." It sounded so deep and husky. And damn it if I weren't fangirling over this once little boy right now. "Fuck, you're not my little KangaRoux anymore."

He gave me a wolfish grin. "I'll always be your KangaRoux, Bella."

"Move, my turn," Rhia said, breaking the moment.

Unexpectedly, Rhia actually gave me a hug. _I'm glad you kept your promise,_ she thought to me.

_Of course,_ I said to her.

"Is… is she _actually_ hugging someone?" Ives whispered.

At this, Rhia pulled away quickly and flipped him off. "Oh, shut up." She turned and zeroed in on Mandy. Rhia smiled. Well, as much as she can smile anyways. "So you two have been together all this time?" she asked me.

"Thanks to you," I said with a sweet tone.

She gave me a look. "You're welcome."

_But Marc is still mine so back off._

I let out a belly laugh. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. I took another step and gave Rhia another hug. "God, I missed you and your evil ways."

"Ugh, get away from me," she groaned, but I could tell that she returned the sentiment.

Soon, we all found ourselves sitting back on the couches.

Through our conversations, I found out that Marc is now a senior and the captain of his football team. Apparently, he's the school's star football player and that all the girls swoon for him. I saw Rhia roll her eyes at this. I only chuckled. It's no wonder that Marc's gotten so built. Then again, he's been eighteen for twenty years now.

Rhia, on the other hand, reigns as the school's Goth Queen. She leads a band of twenty Goth kids. Apparently, whenever they walk the halls as a group, everyone makes way for them. It's like darkness is literally walking through the halls of their school, considering they all wore black and had lined their eyes think with black eyeliner.

The way I saw it, Marc and Rhia were on the opposite sides of the social spectrum.

"Doesn't anyone ever get curious?" Mandy asked.

"About what?" Rhia snapped.

"How the two of you get along, even though you guys are completely opposite," Mandy replied without a beat.

"Everyone knows that we're siblings, so they don't question it," Marc answered.

_Siblings. I know for a fact that Rhia doesn't feel the same way._

And looking at her, I could tell that she didn't appreciate his answer. "Yeah, besides, we try not to associate with each other while we're at school. Right?" She gave Marc a sickly sweet smile, but he didn't even seem affected.

"Right," he replied back, returning her smile. But his was more charming and nice.

"So Rhia…" Ives started.

"What?" she spat at him. _Oh, good old Rhia._ "How many Goth kids does it take to fix a lightbulb?"

"Not this again," Patrick groaned.

"None, they'd rather sit in the dark and cry!" Ives exclaimed, obviously pleased with himself. He started laughing hysterically and fell back against the couch.

I coughed, trying to smother my own laugh. I looked around and saw that everyone was trying to do the same, unlike Ives who was outright dying of laughter. Rhia looked like she just might murder him.

"Wait, wait! I've got another one! Why did the Goth cross the road?"

"Why?" Rhia growled.

"It didn't! It was dead!"

Ives howled with laughter.

Rhia stood up from the couch and was about to charge at Ives. Luckily, Marc grabbed a hold of her waist before she could do any damage. She struggled against Marc and tried to get at Ives.

Ives cowered and tried to hide behind Mandy.

"Help!" he squeaked.

With a satisfied smile on her face, Mandy only said, "You brought this upon yourself."

"I'm going to kill you!" Rhia shouted.

Patrick just sat back and took pictures, like he usually did.

Marc continued to hold her back, but I could tell he was being gentle about it. He looked like he didn't want to hurt her in any way.

While watching the whole exchange, I realized just how much I missed this rambunctious group of people. Despite the constant arguments and spats, they were still a family at the end of the day. And they always stuck together.

I missed Ives and his crazy antics. Patrick and his camera. Marc and his ice cream. And Rhia, with her glorious supreme overlord attitude.

"I think Bella's gone crazy," I heard Ives announce to everyone.

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up."

The whole argument finally died down and it seemed that Rhia had finally calmed down. I could see Marc rubbing her back soothingly.

"Well, you were kind of just standing there and smiling," Ives pointed out.

"I just realized how much I missed you guys and all your banters," I said with a smile.

"Group hug!" Ives announced.

"No!" We all argued, but it was too late.

Ives managed to get everyone into a huge group hug. Finally, I stopped struggling and actually reveled in it. I missed _my family._

"Umm, as much as I'm _enjoying_ this," Rhia started, but her voice was full of sarcasm, "I need to have a talk with Bella."

The group hug disbanded after another minute.

"Talk?" I asked. She nodded.

"Peace out, assholes. I'll see you guys later." Rhia grabbed my arm and dragged me out of there.

"But – "

Before I could say another word, I felt the familiar blanket covering me. I gasped as my feet made contact with the ground. I looked around and saw that we were at some part of the woods.

"What was that for?" I demanded.

"I didn't want them to follow us, so I transported," she answered easily.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"I don't like Mara for Landon," was the first thing that escaped her lips.

"Well, that came out of nowhere…"

"I indulged their relationship, Bella. You know, I thought she was good for him. She was fixing him in a way that none of us could. But… I didn't expect him to _propose_ to her," she started rambling.

With a bitter thought, I replied, "Fate didn't tell you?"

She paused and stared at me. "No, she didn't."

"What else didn't she tell you? Did she tell you it would take thirty years before I finally saw you guys again? Or better yet, did she tell you that every day, I blame myself for leaving you guys, for abandoning Landon just when we were about to get married?!" I hadn't meant to start yelling at Rhia, but everything just started spilling out from me.

I hadn't thought about him as much as I should have. I've tried my best to avoid the topic. Now that Rhia's brought it up again, the dam's been broken.

"All I know," Rhia said softly, "Is that if you didn't leave when I told you to, things would have been worse. _Much worse._ And it would have taken longer than thirty years before we saw you again."

"Rhia, he's _engaged_. What am I supposed to do now?" I said with a pleading tone to my voice.

She took a step forwards and enveloped me into a hug. I was right. We were just about the same height.

"The only thing you can do," she whispered, "Don't give up."

**I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS CHAPTER. What did you guys think?**

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	4. Remember December

**I'm now deciding between UCLA or UC Berkeley. Ahhhh! I don't know which one to choose! But I'm so excited to go to college :)**

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Chapter 4: Remember December

"_Please remember, remember, December. We were so in love back then."_

_- Demi Lovato_

**Bella POV**

It's been a few days since we last had a visit. _Thank God_. After Ives, Patrick, Marc, and Rhia's visit, I've been emotionally drained. Most especially after my talk with Rhia. She was right. There isn't much I could do but keep holding on. _I _was the one who left, so I'm going to have to be the one to make the effort.

The week has passed by quickly and it's already Charlie's death anniversary tomorrow. I pretty much plan to spend my whole day there, just talking to him and keeping him updated with how I've been.

"Bella?"

I turned to look at Mandy. "Yeah?"

"There's some people here to visit you. They're in the living room. I'm gonna give you guys some space. So, peace out," she announced and then proceeded to leave my room.

We weren't at the shop today, like we normally would be. Worst case scenario: Landon finally figured out that I'm here. I shook my head. _No way_. Besides, Rayne would have told me.

I stood up and followed after Mandy.

"Cassandra! Adrien!" I exclaimed in pleasant surprise.

"Hi, honey," Cassandra smiled. I quickly jumped into their embrace.

"The kids aren't as slick as they think they are, you know," Adrien said. I could hear the smile in his voice.

"We've been following the kids," Cassandra chuckled.

"_Oh_, stalkers," I joked. They grinned. I finally situated myself next to them.

"We missed you, Bella," Adrien said, reaching over to grab my hands. "You're still family, you know that, right?"

I nodded. "Thanks, Adrien. I'm really sorry for – "

"Honey, why are you apologizing?" Cassandra asked softly. "We completely understand. You had to do what you thought was best. There's no hard feelings."

"But, Landon… he self-destructed because of me. And – "

"Bella, look at me," Adrien interrupted forcefully. "Whatever my son decided to do after you left rests only on his shoulders. You didn't _make_ him do anything."

"And he's better now," Cassandra added, "That's all that counts."

My mind wandered. _He's better now._ Yeah, because of _her_. Not because of me.

I think the two of them instantly picked up on what I was thinking because Adrien snapped in my face.

"Hey, you know that's not what she meant," he said softly.

I bit my lip. "I know. I just can't help it, you know?"

The two of them nodded in understanding.

"But hey, between the two of us," Adrien leaned in like he was going to tell me a secret, "I'm still on your side."

"Team Bella all the way!" Cassandra agreed with a cheer.

I chuckled.

"Thanks, _Mom_ and _Dad_," I smiled. Both of their eyes softened considerably at my endearment.

"But in all seriousness, how are you, Bella?" Adrien asked.

I shrugged. "Honestly, I'm just _okay_. I'm not great, but at least I'm not horrible either. I'm still trying to piece my life back together. And as you know, it's Charlie's death anniversary tomorrow."

"Yeah, we were actually planning to drop by in the morning," Cassandra said. Adrien nodded in agreement next to her.

"It's just… a lot of things happening at once. Seeing everyone again. Moving back here. Charlie's death anniversary…"

I left the rest of it open ended. Cassandra and Adrien knew I was specifically leaving out an event: Landon's engagement.

"You're a strong girl, Bella. You always have been," Adrien assured, "You'll get through it."

"Adrien's absolutely right," Cassandra agreed. "Now, not to go off topic, but what did you think of Marc?"

I belted out a laugh. "Oh, you're really proud to be that boy's mother, aren't you?"

She nodded eagerly. "Can you believe it? My little boy is all grown up now!"

"He's gorgeous, Cass. Takes after you, of course," I said, laying it on thick. She chuckled.

"Oh, you," she teased.

And just like that, the three of us fell into an easy conversation. Not once, did we bring up Landon again.

After a few hours, they finally decided to call their leave. Just like with everyone, the reality of how much I've missed them punched me in the gut. I really don't understand how I managed to survive without them by my side.

Later that night, Mandy came home with a smile on her face.

"So, how was your date with Ives?" I asked teasingly.

Her eyebrows scrunched in mock confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, shut up, Mandy. I can see through you," I said, poking her on the side.

"Ives can go suck a – "

"_Hey_," I said soothingly. "I'm just joking."

"Mhmm, sure you were." She rolled her eyes and disappeared into her room. I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped my lips.

Soon, I too went into my room and prepared myself for the emotional onslaught of tomorrow's event.

* * *

I stared at my calendar almost all morning, as I got ready. The red marker announced the importance of today's event: Charlie's death anniversary. Although I visit him every year, the weight of his absence is still heavy in my heart. I miss him so much that it hurts.

When I finally gathered enough strength, I said goodbye to Mandy and headed out to go buy some flowers.

My dad was never really a fan of flowers, but it had always been a joke between the two of us that I continue to annoy him, even after death. Of course, back then, I never actually thought of him dying. It only felt right to continue on with our joke, because it means that the memories between us continue to stay alive.

I eventually make it to the cemetery. Taking a deep breath, I lowered myself next to his tombstone and sat cross-legged.

_Here lies Charlie Swan, a beloved father and leader. _

_He shall always and forever be remembered._

"Hi, Dad," I started off, as I placed the flowers next to him. "I've missed you. I mean, you know, I was here last year, but you get what I mean."

Without meaning to, the tears already started building up in my eyes. I sniffled and weakly chuckled.

"Oh look, I'm crying again."

_Stop crying, Bells._ I imagined that's exactly what he would have said to me if he were still alive. _If_.

"Well, I've finally decided to stay here again. I know it took me a while to get back, but I had to make sure that no one would be alive to remember who I am. We wouldn't want them to think I'm some sort of immortal, right?" I scoffed to myself. "_Oh the scandal_," I joked.

"I saw Landon," I blurted out. At this, I lowered my eyes and started twiddling my thumbs. "As you know, I left him thirty years ago. All this time, I thought that we were eventually going to find our ways back to each other. Looking back, I was so silly. Who was I to expect that he wasn't going to fall in love with someone else?"

By now, the tears were steadily streaming down my face.

"Just because I haven't loved anyone else, doesn't mean he'd be the same. _God, he's engaged, Dad._ Engaged. How can I compete with that girl? He offered me marriage once and I threw it back in his face. Now, here's a girl willing to love him and take care of him forever. What am I supposed to do?

Do I let him go? Do I keep holding on? I took away his happiness once. I don't want to do it again."

_And you? Are you happy?_ I'd like to think that's what he would have asked me.

"No," I sobbed. "I'm not happy. I'm miserable. I was such an idiot. I left him because I needed to find myself. And now I realize, I can't be myself without him. He's such a huge part of me. Without him, I'm incomplete."

After my confession, silence passed. I closed my eyes and remembered something he once said to me. Back when I was still mourning Edward.

"_Bella, everyone experiences pain. I know you're going through a painful time right now. I get that, but you don't have to be so miserable. Misery and pain are two different things. Pain is unavoidable, but to put yourself through misery is an option. You don't have to be miserable if you don't want to."_

I breathed. "You always did have the best advice. Okay, let me rephrase that. I'm _not_ miserable. I guess I'm simply at a crossroads, trying to decide whether I should continue to pursue Landon or let him be happy with another girl. I know you really liked him."

And just like that, I flashed back to the night when Charlie first met Landon.

"_It was really great to meet you, Charlie," Landon smiled._

"_You too. Remember, you're welcome anytime. Just no sleepovers, alright?"_

_I whined and hid myself in Landon's chest. "Dad…"_

"_Scout's honor," Landon promised, saluting Charlie._

"_I really think that this one's a keeper, Bells," Charlie commented._

"I never really told you, but if it weren't for you, I don't think Landon and I would have ever gotten together. Do you remember New Year's? I came home earlier than I was supposed to. And I was so unsure about Landon; I didn't know whether I could open up my heart again.

You were there. You were always there when I needed you. We had a conversation about Landon, and you helped me overcome my fears. Because of you, I got the strength to talk to Landon. Do you still remember the last few things you said to be that night?"

"_Why don't you give him a chance?" he suggested. I bit my lip but nodded. "And I want to meet him, alright?" I chuckled and hugged him._

"_Of course," I grinned._

"_Anyone who can make you smile like that is a good person," he added._

"_Thanks, Dad," I said genuinely._

"_Anytime, Bells. Anytime."_

"Even now, you're still here for me. You still help me through the uncertainties of life. Because of you, _I'm here_. That's part of the reason why I decided to stay. You built your life around this place. All your memories are here. All of the memories we created together are here. God, I miss you so much, Dad."

"_Thanks, Dad," I thanked. "I know I've never told you, but I really appreciate you being there for me," I said sincerely._

"_I'll always be there for you. Know that," he replied._

"_I know. Thanks," I repeated._

_He laughed and playfully pushed me away. "Okay, I think we've had enough," he joked._

"_Alright, Mr. Manly," I laughed as I walked up my stairs._

"We were never the affectionate type. We loved each other through our subtle actions, rather than words. We had a unique bond. And I just want you to know that no matter what, you'll always be the most important man in my life."

"_I'm going to miss you so much, Dad."_

"_I'm gonna miss you too, Bells."_

I threw my arms around the tombstone and rested my head against the cool slab of stone.

"I should have been long dead, Dad. But instead, I'm still here, alive. Sometimes, I wish I could be with you already."

_Don't say that_, he'd probably say to me.

"I know, I know. I just can't help it."

I let a moment of silence pass. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Dad? Can you do me a favor?"

_Sure, Bells. Anything._

"Can you send me a guardian angel? You know, with the wings and everything? Not that I don't want _you_ to be my guardian angel, but you might be too overprotective." I chuckled in spite of myself.

"I just… I want to be happy again."

After a few more moments, I let go of my grip on the tombstone and sat back down on the grass.

I wiped the remnants of any tears away from my cheeks and sighed. "If only I could be happy again," I murmured to myself.

I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of my surroundings. It was oddly calming. I liked to believe that Charlie was here, just drifting with the wind. However, my peace was interrupted.

At the sound of the crack of a twig, I whipped my head so fast that I could've sworn I got a whiplash.

My eyes widened.

I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe.

"Long time, no see, Bella."

**I'm pretty sure you guys know who it is :)**

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	5. Distance

**This is the chapter you guys have all been waiting for. I hope ya'll give Landon a warm welcome back :) Btw, this chapter ties in with the last chapter of Landon's Summer Diary, so ya'll should go re-read it again if you want.**

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Chapter 5: Distance

"_And I'll make sure to keep my distance, say I love you when you're not listening."_

_- Christina Perri_

**Bella POV**

"_Long time, no see, Bella."_

Landon Drew Fiore was standing right in front of me. Oh, I wished for this moment for so long and now, as I sat here looking at him, my heart ached. I felt like I didn't know him anymore.

His hair is still in the same way it always been, but I can see that it's grown about an inch. He's a few inches taller now, making him taller than ever. Even his face is more angled. He's lost the last bits of his boyish features. No. The Landon who stood before was a _man_. He's not the teenage boy I once knew.

I opened my mouth but no words escaped my mouth.

I finally gazed into his eyes and found that he was giving me a piercing stare. At my lack of words, he raised an eyebrow.

"No hello?" he asked, a teasing tone coating his words.

"Hi," I managed to breathe out.

I noticed that he was carrying a brown bag in his hands. I jerked my head and gestured towards it.

"Oh, this?" he asked, lifting the bag. "Well, Charlie always said that he loved red meat, so…"

Despite it all, I cracked a smile. "Roast beef?" I asked. He smiled and nodded.

"Do you mind?" I gestured towards the spot next to me.

I knew that he was trying to play it cool, but he must be just as nervous as I am. Or maybe he isn't. It's been thirty years after all. He could be a completely different person now.

"No, not at all," I replied.

He sat cross-legged next to me. For a moment, silence passed between us. I guess neither of us knew what to say. I'm glad he was the one who broke the silence.

"You want one? It's a sub." He offered the sandwich to me. I reluctantly took it from him.

And just for a quick second, we made skin contact. I felt the buzz of skin travel through my body. Our eyes snapped to each other. There was some sort of emotion in his eyes that I couldn't pinpoint. Was it anger? Shock? _Want_?

"Um, sorry," I quickly apologized before snatching my hand away.

"It's fine," he murmured.

The two of us sat like that for a while, just staring at Charlie's tombstone.

I couldn't handle the thick tension between us. It's like, I had so many things to say to him and now that he's here, everything that I wanted to say felt like moot point. They didn't seem important anymore.

"Thanks for the sub," I said, breaking the quiet.

"I usually make it a tradition to leave the sub with Charlie and I eat the other one. Makes me feel like we're bonding," he informed me. Then he took a bite from his sandwich.

"Well, if this was meant for Charlie…" I started. "Why'd you give it to me?"

He gave me a weak smile. "I'm sure he won't mind. You're kind of a special exception, you know."

"Thanks, Dad," I murmured, gazing at the tombstone.

And just like that, we were back to another hush. No words were spoken.

I couldn't handle it. I felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest. I wanted to sit next to Landon and feel his touch. I wanted things to go back to the way they were. But I knew that they couldn't. And it was my entire fault.

I kept a good foot of space in between us. I didn't want to run the risk of accidentally making contact with him again.

"So, uh, how have you been?" he asked suddenly.

I turned my head to look at him, but he wasn't looking at me. He was just staring in the far distance.

"I've been fine. Mandy and I were just in Canada. We finally moved back here. Well, in Port Angeles, but it's nearby." I didn't know why I wanted him to know that I was staying for good.

"I know," was all he said.

"Know what?" I was confused.

Finally, he turned and looked at me. "I know you're staying here."

"Did they – "

"No, no one from the family told me. That night in Port Angeles…"

My eyes widened and suddenly, I felt so ashamed. He had seen me break down. That had been my lowest point.

"I could feel you there. I knew your presence was somewhere around me and I could feel your eyes on me. I didn't get to see you, but I did see Mandy. And I knew then. Plus, everyone in the family has been acting really secretive around me. It only confirmed everything," he explained.

A part of me was glad that he didn't see me break down. Another part of me wondered what it meant that he could feel my presence. Did it mean that he was still attached to our bond in some way?

"Sorry that I didn't say anything to you," I apologized.

He shrugged. "I guess it was for the best. Besides, I was going to find out at some point or another."

_It was for the best_.

Nothing I ever did was actually for the best. And I hate myself for it.

"And you?" I asked. He looked at me questioningly. "How have you been?"

"Honestly? I'm better now than I was several years ago," he admitted. "I don't think I need to go in detail, do I?" He planted his piercing gaze on me. I gulped and shook my head.

"What's Mara like?" I whispered the question. It hung like a death sentence around us.

"She… she's _great_," he breathed. _Pang!_ My heart took a hit. "She really helped me get back on my feet. She got me to smile on my worst days, when I wanted nothing but lock myself in my room."

My eyes watered at his confessions. And to think that I was the reason for his brokenness. I tried my best not to let the tears fall.

"I'm so sorry." There was no amount of apology that could make up for what I did.

"Don't be," he said. "You did what you had to. I don't resent you. I could never."

It hurt to say it, but it needed to be said. "I'm just glad you're happy now."

He finally turned his head and really looked at me. It's like he was asking me, _Are you? Are you really happy for me?_ I couldn't bear his piercing gaze but I also couldn't find it in myself to look away.

"How about you? Have you found someone yet?" he asked. Maybe it was just me, but I sensed some sort of desperation in his voice, like he didn't want me to be with someone else. Then again, wishful thinking can kill a girl.

_No, _I wanted to say, _I've never been with anybody else. It's always been you, Landon. It's always going to be you._

I wanted to say those words so much, but I knew that I had no right to. He's happy where he is and I would be cruel to try to take that away from him.

"I've had a few relationships here and there, but none of them really stuck. I guess I'm still looking for _the one_. He's around here somewhere, I just need to find him," I replied without looking at him. _He's right here in front of me. You're the one, Landon. You're the one._ But again, those words didn't come out from my mouth. They were better left unsaid.

I felt horrible for lying, because truth was, I have really never been with anybody else. It didn't feel right.

"Well," he said quietly, "I'm sure you'll find him soon enough. It took me a while to find Mara, but I found her eventually."

Why does he keep bringing her up? Does he want to intentionally hurt me?

"I'm sure she's a great girl." It took all my strength to keep the bitterness out of my words.

"She wants to meet you, you know." At this, I snapped my head to look at him.

"She knows?" I asked with incredulity.

A small chuckle escaped his lips. "She doesn't know about you and me, but she does know about _you_. You're all the family ever talks about. You're like a legend to her. She hears so many things about you but she's never even seen you once, not even in pictures."

Rayne's words echoed in my head.

_Because I want you to know that even after everything, we, your family, still love you and care for you. There hasn't been a single day when we don't talk about you. We want Mara to know that she can never be you. _

She wasn't kidding.

"I don't think it would be the best idea for her to meet me…" I trailed off, letting him fill in the spaces.

"And why not?"

"Because, _Landon_, I was your girlfriend." _Or ex-girlfriend is more like it_. But I was just being bitter. "Besides, isn't it like keeping a huge part of your life from her? She's interacting with a girl that's potentially a threat to your relationship."

Landon met my eyes once again. "Are you a threat to our relationship?" he asked, his voice dropping down several octaves.

A deep blush overtook my cheeks. I hadn't meant it that way, but he was right. _Am I a threat?_

"I didn't mean it that way," I quickly said, trying to mend the situation. "You know what I mean."

He sighed. "I know. You're right. But the world is such a small place. At one point or another, you're going to meet Mara. Wouldn't you want it to be planned rather than a surprise?"

_Well, I intend on never meeting her, so…_

I shrugged. "Honestly, I really don't know."

I looked over at him and saw him staring at the far distance once more.

"I've missed you, Bella." The words were so quiet, I wasn't quite sure if he actually said it or if I was just imagining things again.

"What?" I stupidly said. I couldn't help it. I needed to know if he actually said what he said.

He turned himself completely towards me. Our knees were touching. I could feel him all over me. It was overwhelming. To my surprise, he leaned over and grabbed my hands. My eyes met his immediately.

"I've missed you, Bella," he repeated again. He would never know how much hope he gave me right there and then, because despite it all, there was still a part of him that needed me, just like I needed him.

But the situation just didn't feel right. He was engaged. "Landon…" I slowly slipped my hands out of his.

We both looked at the ground, afraid to let any feelings resurface.

Finally, he gave me a sad smile. "I miss my best friend. Before we were together, we were really good friends."

_Wow, I believe that I've just been friend-zoned._

He offers me his hand. "Friends?"

And much to my despair, I reluctantly shook his hand. "Friends," I agreed.

"This isn't going to be the last time we see each other, so we might as well patch things up now," he added.

"You're right. I don't plan on leaving any time soon and I don't think the family is either," I agreed.

He looked down at his watch and stood up. I followed after him.

"Well, I have to go meet up with Mara. Sorry for taking away your time with Charlie," he apologized.

"It's okay," I murmured. "It was nice to see you."

"You too."

And we stood there staring at each other for some time. It was like we didn't know how to say goodbye.

Before I knew it, we had each other wrapped up in an embrace. I tightened my gripped around his waist and rested my head against his chest. He felt so familiar. His scent hit me like a ton of bricks. I'd been so used to being surrounded by him, to suddenly not have him by my side.

And now that he's all over me again, I never wanted to let go. Tears pooled in my eyes but I willed them to stay there. I didn't need Landon to see me crying.

Reluctantly, I pulled away. "Go," I whispered, "You wouldn't want to keep Mara waiting."

We stared at each other once more. I knew that he could see the tears in my eyes.

"Okay," he breathed. And just like that, he turned around and walked away from me.

Last time, I had been the one to walk away from him. Funny how the situation can quickly turn around.

"I love you," I said to the empty cemetery, wanting Landon to hear the words, but he was already long gone.

**Hot damn. Did it give you guys THE FEELS? This was one of the hardest chapters I had to write. I hope you guys enjoyed Landon's presence once again :)**

**This was the exact moment Landon was talking about in the last chapter of Landon's Summer Diary. Did you guys notice? I hope you did! I told you guys that everything is going to tie in all together at one point or another. Any other theories? ;)**

**25 REVIEWS for the next chapter!**

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	6. I Was Here

**Late update, I know. I've been busy the past three weeks. I've been going to senior weekends at Berkeley and UCLA and this weekend, I competed in a film competition, and I'm proud to say that I'll be representing California in the 2014 SkillsUSA National Conference for Digital Cinema Production. Woohoo! **

**I've been meaning to share this chapter with you guys, so here it is! Enjoy!**

Chapter 6: I Was Here

"_I was here. I lived, I loved. I was here."_

_- Beyonce_

**Bella POV**

Yesterday had been such an exhausting day. I didn't realize how much meeting Landon would knock the breath out of me. I had waited for that day for so long and it was nothing like I dreamed it to be.

I imagined that I would spend my life making it up to Landon for leaving him, but despite it all, we would still be together.

That obviously was not the case.

To make matters worse, Adrien and Cassandra invited Mandy and me to their home. I wanted to refuse so badly. I didn't want to run the risk of seeing Landon again. Or worse, I didn't want to see Landon _with_ Mara.

I knew that they could feel my reluctance, so they promised me that neither Landon nor Mara would be there. At that point, I had to agree.

"You okay?" Mandy asked beside me as we pulled into the Fiores' and Rouxs' driveway.

I nodded. "Yesterday just took a toll on me."

"At least you're not running away from your problems," she offered with a small smile.

I laughed bitterly. "Yeah, I'm driving directly towards it," I said, pointing towards the Fiores' home.

"Well, Adrien and Cass promised that they wouldn't be here," she assured.

"I know, but things never really turn out in my favor."

She patted my shoulder. "Cheer up, Bells." I nodded and followed her out of the car.

Before we could even ring the doorbell, Ives slammed the door open. "Welcome!" he greeted with great enthusiasm. "Come in! Mi casa es su casa."

I rolled my eyes and walked in.

"Bella! Mandy!"

I smiled at everyone's greeting. Everyone paid me with his or her respective hugs.

"Geez, girl. It feels like I haven't seen you in forever," Rayne said.

"You saw me a few days ago, Rayne," I chuckled.

"Exactly!"

They led Mandy and me to the couch where everyone else was lounging. I looked around and noticed that Rhia and Marc were missing.

"Rhia and Marc are still at school," Daniel answered my unasked question.

"Still? It's almost five," I said.

"They participate in afterschool activities," Adrien replied.

"Marc, I can understand. But Rhia?"

Patrick laughed. "Nah, Rhia's probably smoking it up with her friends."

"Patrick John Roux!" Cassandra said, appalled.

He raised up his hands in defense. "I'm just kidding!"

"What about Marc?" Mandy asked.

"He has football practice," Daniel answered. I nodded, accepting his answer.

"Why don't you guys catch up with everyone while I prepare dinner?" Adrien asked.

"Do you need any help?" I asked. He waved off my offer.

"Go," he smiled, "Catch up with them."

"Me first!" Ives exclaimed.

He grabbed Mandy's and my hand and dragged us up towards his room. Just like I expected, band posters were pinned all over his room. His bed stayed unkempt, as always, but it was as organized as it could ever be.

"So, how's the band going?" I asked.

"Well, we're not The Crazy Chimpanzees anymore."

Mandy scoffed. "Yeah, they've upgraded to The Annoying Oranges."

"Hey, we're still working with the name!"

I chuckled and collapsed onto his bed. "You're the same as you ever were, Ives."

Mandy and he sat on the bed with me. "Is that a good or bad thing?" he asked.

I turned to him and smiled. "It's a good thing. I was so afraid that everyone had already changed, that I wouldn't fit in with you guys anymore. But you're still the same. It's nice. It gives me a sense of familiarity."

He patted my thigh. "Everyone might have changed appearance-wise, but they're all still the same people, Bella."

"You really do have your deep moments," I mused, "Thanks, Ives."

I turned to Mandy and saw that she was smiling at Ives contently. I could definitely see why she liked being around him, despite the fact that she always denied it.

Rayne's head popped into the room. "My turn!"

I got up and followed after Rayne. "Mandy?"

She looked at me and smiled. "You go ahead, Bells. I think I'll stay here for a bit."

My gaze travelled down and I saw that hers and Ives' hand were intertwined. A huge smile made its way onto my face. "Okay," I said.

Rayne and I rushed out of the room, giggling. "They're so cute," Rayne gushed.

"I know, right? Mandy keeps trying to deny it, but I know that she really likes him," I told her.

"Wait until Daniel hears about this!"

We walked into hers and Daniel's room. "Hear about what?" Daniel asked.

Rayne jumped onto the bed and said, "Ives and Mandy are totally getting it on!"

Daniel scrunched up his nose. "Eww."

"It's not as gross as it sounds, I promise," I told him.

Before joining them on the bed, I gazed at their room. Half of the room looked like Daniel's. Football trophies and posters were on one side of the room. The other half was filled with Rayne's make-up and cheerleading trophies.

"Geez, guys. It's like your room is separated into two," I commented as I joined them on the bed.

"We couldn't come up with a compromise, so this happened," Rayne replied as she gestured to their room.

"Hey, I actually like it," Daniel argued.

We all laughed. We knew he was just saying that to appease Rayne.

"So…" Rayne started off. I could already tell where the situation was heading. "I hear that you saw Landon yesterday."

"He told you?"

She nodded. "Just me though. And then I told Daniel."

"You okay?" Daniel asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, I'm glad that he's happy, but at the same time…"

"He's not happy with you," Rayne finished. I nodded.

I hung my head down and played with the hem of my shirt. "It's just hard."

"Hey," Daniel said softly as he gently grabbed my chin and made me look at him. "It's always going to be tough before it gets easy."

"You just need to keep holding on," Rayne added.

"How do I know when to stop holding on?" I asked.

"You'll know it when you get there," Daniel answered.

"My turn!" Patrick's muffled voice came from the other side of the door as he banged against it.

Rayne groaned. "Not fair!"

"Yeah! Not fair for me! Why am I always last?" he shouted back.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Guess it's time for you to go."

"I'll see you guys in a bit." I gave them hugs before I padded off towards Patrick.

"Remember, Bella. Keep holding on." I gave Rayne a grateful smile.

When I opened the door, Patrick was in mid-knock. He stopped right before he hit me in the face. He smiled sheepishly. "My turn?"

"Your turn," I grinned.

"So how has life been?" he asked as he opened his room for me.

Before I answered him, I looked about his room. Just like I expected, pictures were hung all over his walls. It seemed that he'd taken a liking to Polaroid pictures because one side of his wall was completely covered with Polaroid films.

I walked over to them and looked through the pictures. Some of them were just pictures of scenery, while some others were pictures of people.

I turned to him with a smile. "Stalker much?"

He walked over and looked at the picture I was gazing at. "Not really stalking, more like capturing people in their natural habitats."

I chuckled. "Sure, if that's what you want to believe."

"Hey, you never answered my question."

I plopped onto his bed and shrugged. "Life's been okay. I guess."

He took a seat next to me. "You guess?"

"I saw Landon yesterday. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

His eyes widened. ""What? I didn't know about that."

"Yeah, well apparently, only Rayne and Daniel knew," I said bitterly.

"How'd that turn out?" he asked.

"As awkward as I thought it would be. He kept bringing _her _up. It's like he was trying to torture me on purpose."

"Landon will be Landon, I suppose. He always did like torturing people," he said.

I gasped and stared at him. He grinned cheekily. I chuckled. "You're as blunt as ever."

He leaned towards his desk and picked up a Polaroid camera. "Do me a favor. Take a picture with me? Please?" I rolled my eyes and nodded.

I leaned into him as he held the camera away from us. I smiled genuinely into the camera. Patrick clicked the button and the flash blinded me momentarily. The film immediately came out of the camera.

"Oh, let me see!" I exclaimed, trying to take the picture away from him.

"Wait!" he shouted, laughing, as he tried to get away from me.

After a few moments of running around, he finally let me see it.

"Aww!" I couldn't help the awe escape from my mouth. "We're so cute!"

"I'm handsome," he corrected. I chuckled. I playfully punched him on the shoulder. "Here." He grabbed the Polaroid from me and stuck tape behind it. He taped it to the wall, along with his countless Polaroids.

We both took a step back to admire his work.

"Now you're a part of my wall," he said, smiling at me.

At that moment, I realized something. If I wasn't so helplessly in love with Landon, I might even find myself falling in love with Patrick. But I'm not a part of his love story. I know that one day he's going to find the girl that will fulfill the love story of his life. It's just not me.

"What?" he asked, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

I smiled, "Nothing. Can we take another picture? I want to have one for myself."

And so we took another picture, except this time, we made funny faces. When I saw the picture, I decided that I liked it better than the first one.

"You know, I was really scared that I wouldn't fit in with you guys anymore," I admitted to him, as I put the Polaroid in my wallet.

"You're always going to fit in with us. You're family," he assured. I smiled.

"I'm glad I came over. It feels like I never left in the first place."

He outstretched his arms. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Come on, you know you want to," he persuaded with a wink.

I chuckled and launched myself into his embrace. "Thanks, Pat."

"Anything for you, Bella."

And right then, the door slammed open.

"Bella! I heard you were here!" Marc's deep voice echoed throughout Patrick's room.

"There's this thing called knocking, you know," Patrick's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Oh, was I interrupting something?" Marc asked with suspicion.

Patrick and I stared at each other. We broke out laughing.

"As if," Patrick scoffed. "Bella can't handle _all of this_," he said, gesturing to his body. I just rolled my eyes.

"Hi, Marc," I greeted. "I'd give you a hug, but you reek of sweat."

He grinned cheekily. "Football practice does that to you. I'll just go take a shower then I'll meet up with you guys. Bye!"

And just like that he was out of the room. Rhia soon came into view.

"And you reek of weed," I commented.

"Told you so," Patrick noted.

"My friends smoke. Doesn't mean that I do," she snapped.

"Hey, maybe you should go join Marc and take a shower," Patrick said with innuendo clear in his voice. He even followed it with a wink.

Rhia wrinkled her nose. "Perv." Then she too walked out of sight.

"Those two are meant for each other, I swear," I told Patrick.

He nodded and his eyes lit up with agreement. "Right?"

"I heard that!" Rhia shouted.

Patrick and I laughed before heading back downstairs to join the rest of the family.

I found Adrien still cooking in the kitchen. "What are you cooking?" I asked him.

"Thought I would cook some roast beef in honor of Charlie," he answered. I gave him a grateful smile.

"I'm sure he if were alive, he'd swoon at the smell of your cooking," I said. "Can I help?"

"Sure, honey," he smiled.

I grabbed the cutting board and started helping him cut the vegetables. Not a minute after, Ives appeared before us with his record player.

"You know what we need?" he asked. "Music!"

And just like that, all hell broke loose. But I mean that in a good way.

Marc and Rhia soon came down to join us. I danced along with both of them to the beat of the music. Surprisingly enough, Rhia smiled more than she ever has in all of the time that I've ever known her.

Daniel and Rayne helped in cooking the food and they too were dancing with the music. As I was putting salt in the marinade, Patrick caught my hand and spun me into a twirl. I fell onto his chest and chuckled.

Next, Ives took his turn to dance with Mandy and me. We all shimmied into each other and then shimmied back.

I was having so much fun. I couldn't believe that I was able to give this up for thirty years. I've really missed my family.

After all the cooking was done, we set all of the plates and food onto the table. Everything smelled great.

"It smells great, Adrien."

"Well, it wouldn't have gotten done without all of your help," he said, smiling at all of us.

"Seriously, this is the most fun I've had in a long time," Marc commented.

"I agree," Rhia added, grinning at me.

"Is she actually smiling?" Ives whispered.

"Ives!" we all shrieked.

"You always got to ruin everything," Daniel groaned, smacking Ives in the head.

"Hey! I resent that!" We all just shook our heads.

But surprisingly, the smile still stayed on Rhia's face.

"So, let's dig in?" Cassandra asked.

We all nodded in agreement.

But just before any of us could actually touch the food, the front door creaked open. Even though the aroma of food all was around me, his scent still attacked my nose.

"Oh, shit."

_Oh, shit_ sounded about right.

**I LOVE PATRICK! Do you? Haha, anywhoooo another cliffhanger. Don't you just love me? :)**

**And as compensation for my late update, here is a sneak peak into Chapter 7:**

"Hey guys!" Mara said to the rest of the family.

"Hey!" they responded with forced enthusiasm.

I looked up and met Landon's eyes once again. I quickly looked away. Every gaze at him felt like a sin, like I wasn't allowed to place my eyes on him.

**YES Mara and Bella will finally meet for the first time. OOOHHHH THE SUSPENSE!**

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